49 Bible Verses about Law, Letter And Spirit Of

And the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered to him. And they saw that some of his disciples were eating their bread with unclean--that is, unwashed--hands. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands {ritually}, [thus] holding fast to the traditions of the elders.read more.
And [when they come] from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other [traditions] which they have received [and] hold fast to--[for example,] the washing of cups and pitchers and bronze kettles and dining couches.) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with unclean hands?" So he said to them, "Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written, 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far, far away from me. And they worship me in vain, teaching [as] doctrines the commandments of men.' Abandoning the commandment of God, you hold fast to the tradition of men."

Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying, "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat {a meal}."

And the Lord said, "Because this people draw near with its mouth, and with its lips it honors me, and its heart is far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men that has been taught,

And it happened [as] he {was dining} in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners were coming [and] {dining} with Jesus and his disciples. And [when they] saw [it], the Pharisees began to say to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" And [when he] heard [it], he said, "Those who are healthy do not have need of a physician, but those {who are sick}.read more.
But go [and] learn what it means, "I want mercy and not sacrifice." For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

And it happened that he {was dining} in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners {were dining with} Jesus and his disciples, for there were many and they were following him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, [when they] saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, began to say to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" And [when] Jesus heard [it], he said to them, "Those who are healthy do not have need of a physician, but those {who are sick}. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

And Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others who were reclining for the meal with them. And the Pharisees and their scribes began to complain to his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?" And Jesus answered [and] said to them, "Those who are healthy do not have need of a physician, but those {who are sick}.read more.
I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."

And he said to them, "You splendidly ignore the commandment of God so that you can keep your tradition. For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'The one who speaks evil of father or mother {must certainly die}.' But you say, 'If a man says to his father or to his mother, "Whatever {benefit you would have received} from me [is] corban" (that is, a gift [to God]),read more.
you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother, [thus] making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down, and you do many similar [things] such as this."

So he answered [and] said to them, "Why do you also break the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and 'The one who speaks evil of father or mother {must certainly die}.' But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or his mother, "Whatever {benefit you would have received} from me [is] a gift [to God],"read more.
need not honor his father,' and you make void the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on the seat of Moses. Therefore do and observe everything that they tell you, but do not do as {they do}, for they tell [others to do something] and do not do [it themselves].read more.
And they tie up heavy burdens and put [them] on people's shoulders, but [they] themselves are not willing with their finger to move them And they do all their deeds in order to be seen by people, for they make their phylacteries broad and make their tassels long. And they love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces and to be called 'Rabbi' by people. But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' because one is your teacher, and you are all brothers, And do not call [anyone] your father on earth, for one is your heavenly Father. And do not be called teachers, because one is your teacher, the Christ. And the greatest among you will be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees--hypocrites!--because you shut the kingdom of heaven before people! For you do not enter, nor permit those wanting to go in to enter. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees--hypocrites!--because you travel around the sea and the dry [land] to make one convert, and when he becomes [one], you make him twice as much a son of hell [as] you [are]! "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing! But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound [by his oath].' Fools and blind [people]! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold holy? And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing! But whoever swears by the gift [that is] on it is bound [by his oath].' Blind [people]! For which [is] greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy Therefore the one who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything [that is] on it. And the one who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells [in] it And the one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by the one who sits on it. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees--hypocrites!--because you pay a tenth of mint and dill and cumin, and neglect the more important [matters] of the law--justice and mercy and faithfulness! It was necessary to do these [things] {while not neglecting those}. Blind guides who filter out a gnat and swallow a camel! "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees--hypocrites!--because you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence! Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees--hypocrites!--because you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean! In the [same] way, on the outside you also appear righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees--hypocrites!--because you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in the blood of the prophets!' Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets! And you--fill up the measure of your fathers! Serpents! Offspring of vipers! How will you escape from the condemnation to hell?

And as he was speaking, a Pharisee asked him {to have a meal} with him, and he went in [and] reclined at table. And the Pharisee, [when he] saw [it], was astonished that he did not first wash before the meal. But the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but your inside is full of greediness and wickedness.read more.
Fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But give [as] charitable giving the things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you. "But woe to you, Pharisees, because you pay a tenth of mint and rue and every garden herb, and neglect justice and love for God! But it was necessary to do these [things] without neglecting those things also. Woe to you, Pharisees, because you love the best seat in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces! Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, and the people who walk over [them] do not know [it]! And one of the legal experts answered [and] said to him, "Teacher, [when you] say these [things], you insult us also!" So he said, "Woe to you also, legal experts, because you load people [with] burdens hard to bear, and [you] yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers! Woe to you, because you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them! As a result you are witnesses, and you approve of the deeds of your fathers, because they killed them and you build [their tombs]! For this [reason] also the wisdom of God said, 'I will send to them prophets and apostles, and [some] of them they will kill and persecute,' so that the blood of all the prophets that has been shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the temple building. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation! Woe to you, legal experts, because you have taken away the key to knowledge! You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering!"

And he also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and looked down on {everyone else}: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood [and] prayed these [things] with reference to himself: 'God, I give thanks to you that I am not like other people--swindlers, unrighteous [people], adulterers, or even like this tax collector!read more.
I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all that I get.' But the tax collector, standing far away, did not want even to raise his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than that one! For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

And [as he] went away, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?" Jesus replied, "Neither this man sinned nor his parents, but [it happened] so that the works of God could be revealed in him.read more.
It is necessary [for] us to do the deeds of the one who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work! While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." [When he] had said these [things], he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes. And he said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated "sent"). So he went and washed and came back seeing. Then the neighbors and those who saw him previously (because he was a beggar) began to say, "Is this man not the one who used to sit and beg?" Others were saying, "It is this man"; others were saying, "No, but he is like him." That one was saying, "I am [he]!" So they began to say to him, "How were your eyes opened?" He replied, "The man who is called Jesus made clay and smeared [it] on my eyes and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash!' So I went, and I washed, [and] I received sight." And they said to him, "Where is that man?" He said, "I do not know." They brought him--the one formerly blind--to the Pharisees. (Now the day on which Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes was the Sabbath.) So the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received sight. And he said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see." So some of the Pharisees were saying, "This man is not from God, because he does not observe the Sabbath!" Others were saying, "How can a man [who is] a sinner perform such signs?" And there was a division among them.

But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve the things that are superior, [because you] are instructed by the law, and are confident [that] you yourself are a guide of the blind, a light of those in darkness,read more.
an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth in the law. Therefore, the one who teaches someone else, do you not teach yourself? The one who preaches not to steal, do you steal? The one who says not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery? The one who abhors idols, do you rob temples? Who boast in the law, by the transgression of the law you dishonor God! For just as it is written, "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."

And now what do I have here?"{declares} Yahweh, "for my people is taken without cause. Its rulers howl," {declares} Yahweh--"and my name [is] reviled continually, all day.

And behold, someone came up to him [and] said, "Teacher, what good [thing] must I do so that I will have eternal life?" And he said to him, "Why are you asking me about [what is] good? There is one [who is] good. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments!" He said to him, "Which [ones]?" And Jesus said, "Do not commit murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony,read more.
honor your father and your mother, and love your neighbor as yourself." The young man said to him, "All these I have observed. What do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give [the proceeds] to the poor--and you will have treasure in heaven--and come, follow me." But [when] the young man heard the statement, he went away sorrowful, because he was one who had many possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly I say to you that with difficulty a rich person will enter into the kingdom of heaven! And again I say to you, it is easier [for] a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich person into the kingdom of God." So [when] the disciples heard [this], they were extremely amazed, saying, "Then who can be saved?" But Jesus looked at [them] [and] said to them, "With human beings this is impossible, but with God all [things] [are] possible." Then Peter answered [and] said to him, "Behold, we have left everything and followed you. What then will there be for us?" And Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you that in the renewal [of the world], when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me--you also will sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields on account of my name will receive a hundred times as much, and will inherit eternal life. But many [who are] first will be last, and the last first.

And [as] he was setting out on [his] way, one [individual] ran up and knelt down before him [and] asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do so that I will inherit eternal life?" So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one [is] good except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.'"read more.
And he said to him, "Teacher, all these I have observed from my youth." And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one [thing]: Go, sell all that you have, and give [the proceeds] to the poor--and you will have treasure in heaven--and come, follow me." But he looked gloomy at the statement [and] went away sorrowful, {because he had} many possessions. And Jesus looked around [and] said to his disciples, "How {difficult it is for} those who possess wealth to enter into the kingdom of God!" And the disciples were astounded at his words. But Jesus answered [and] said to them again, "Children, how difficult it is to enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier [for] a camel to go through the eye of a needle than [for] a rich person to enter into the kingdom of God." And they were very astounded, saying to one another, "And who can be saved?" Jesus looked at them [and] said, "With human beings [it is] impossible, but not with God. For all [things] [are] possible with God." Peter began to say to him, "Behold, we have left everything and followed you." Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields on account of me and on account of the gospel {who will not} receive a hundred times as much now in this time--houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and fields, together with persecutions--and in the age to come, eternal life.

And a certain ruler asked him, saying, "Good Teacher, [by] doing what will I inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one [is] good except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.'"read more.
And he said, "All these I have observed from my youth." And [when he] heard [this], Jesus said to him, "{You still lack one thing}: Sell all that you have, and distribute [the proceeds] to the poor--and you will have treasure in heaven--and come, follow me." But [when he] heard these [things] he became very sad, because he was extremely wealthy. And Jesus took notice of him [and] said, "How {difficult it is for} those who possess wealth to enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier [for] a camel to go through the eye of a needle than [for] a rich person to enter into the kingdom of God. So those who heard [this] said, "And who can be saved?" But he said, "[What is] impossible with men is possible with God." And Peter said, "Behold, we have left {all that is ours} [and] followed you." And he said to them, "Truly I say to you that there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children on account of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time and in the age to come, eternal life."

At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. And his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck off heads of grain and eat [them]. But [when] the Pharisees saw [it], they said to him, "Behold, your disciples are doing what it is not permitted to do on the Sabbath!" So he said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those with him,read more.
how he entered into the house of God and ate the bread of the presentation, which it was not permitted for him or for those with him to eat, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple violate the sanctity of the Sabbath and are guiltless? But I tell you that [something] greater than the temple is here! And if you had known what {it means}, 'I want mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath." And going on from there he came into their synagogue. And behold, [there was] a man who had a withered hand, and they asked him, saying, "Is it permitted to heal on the Sabbath?" in order that they could accuse him. But he said to them, "What man will there be among you who will have one sheep and if this one fell into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift [it] out? Then to what degree [is] a man worth more than a sheep? So then, it is permitted to do good on the Sabbath." Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand," and he stretched [it] out, and it was restored [as] healthy as the other [one]. But the Pharisees went out {and plotted} against him in order that they could destroy him.

Now it happened that on a Sabbath he went through the grain fields, and his disciples were picking and eating the heads of grain, rubbing [them] in [their] hands. But some of the Pharisees said, "Why are you doing what is not permitted on the Sabbath? And Jesus answered [and] said to them, "Have you not read this, what David did when he and those [who were] with him were hungry--read more.
how he entered into the house of God and took the bread of the presentation, which it is not permitted to eat (except the priests alone), [and] ate [it] and gave [it] to those with him?" And he said to them, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." Now it happened that on another Sabbath he entered into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there, and his right hand was withered. So the scribes and the Pharisees were watching closely [to see] if he would heal on the Sabbath, in order that they could find [a reason] to accuse him. But he knew their thoughts and said to the man who had the withered hand, "Get up and stand in the middle," and he got up [and] stood there. And Jesus said to them, "I ask you whether it is permitted on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy [it]?" And [after] looking around at them all, he said to him, "Stretch out your hand," and he did, and his hand was restored. But they were filled with fury, and began discussing with one another what they might do to Jesus.

And they went into Capernaum and immediately on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue. And they were amazed at his teaching, because he was teaching them like one who had authority, and not like the scribes. And so then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit, and he cried out,read more.
saying, "{Leave us alone}, Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!" And Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" And [after] convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, the unclean spirit came out of him. And they were all amazed, so that [they began] to discuss with one another, saying, "What is this? A new teaching with authority! He even commands the unclean spirits and they obey him." And the report about him then went out everywhere in the whole surrounding region of Galilee.

And he came down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbath. And they were astounded at his teaching, because {he spoke} with authority. And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice,read more.
"Ha! {Leave us alone}, Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!" And Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent and come out of him!" And [after] throwing him down in their midst, the demon came out of him without hurting him at all. And amazement came upon [them] all, and they began to talk with one another, saying, "What word [is] this? For he commands the unclean spirits with authority and power, and they come out!" And news about him went out into every place of the surrounding region.

Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, a woman [was there] who had a spirit {that had disabled her} [for] eighteen years, and she was bent over and not able to straighten herself up completely. And [when he] saw her, Jesus summoned [her] and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your disability!"read more.
And he placed [his] hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and glorified God. But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, answered [and] said to the crowd, "There are six days on which it is necessary to work. Therefore come [and] be healed on them, and not on the day of the Sabbath!" But the Lord answered and said to him, "Hypocrites! Does not each one of you untie his ox or [his] donkey from the feeding trough on the Sabbath and lead [it] away to water [it]? And this woman, who is a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan bound {eighteen} long years--is it not necessary that she be released from this bond on the day of the Sabbath?" And [when] he said these [things], all those who opposed him were humiliated, and the whole crowd was rejoicing at all the splendid things that were being done by him.

And it happened that when he came to the house of a certain one of the leaders of the Pharisees on a Sabbath to eat {a meal}, they were watching him closely. And behold, a certain man was in front of him, suffering from edema. And Jesus answered [and] said to the legal experts and Pharisees, saying, "Is it permitted to heal on the Sabbath, or not?"read more.
But they remained silent. And he took hold of [him] [and] healed him, and sent [him] away. And he said to them, "Who among you, [if your] son or [your] ox falls into a well on the day of the Sabbath, will not immediately pull him out?" And they were not able to make a reply to these [things].

After these [things] [there] was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool called in Aramaic Bethzatha, which has five porticoes. In these were lying a large number of those who were sick, blind, lame, paralyzed.read more.
And a certain man was there who had [been] thirty-eight years in his sickness. Jesus, [when he] saw this one lying [there] and knew that he had [been sick] a long time already, said to him, "Do you want to become well?" The one who was sick answered him, "Sir, I do not have anyone that, whenever the water is stirred up, could put me into the pool. But {while} I am coming, another goes down before me." Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk!" And immediately the man became well and picked up his mat and began to walk. (Now it was the Sabbath on that day.) So the Jews were saying to the one who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath, and it is not permitted for you to pick up the mat!" But he answered them, "The one who made me well--that one said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk!'" So they asked him, "Who is the man who said to you, 'Pick up [your mat] and walk?'" But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn [while] a crowd was in the place. After these [things] Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "Look, you have become well! Sin no longer, lest something worse happen to you." The man went and reported to the Jews that Jesus was the one who made him well. And on account of this the Jews began to persecute Jesus, because he was doing these [things] on the Sabbath.

Jesus answered and said to them, "I performed one work, and you are all astonished. Because of this Moses has given you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses would not be broken, are you angry with me because I made a whole man well on the Sabbath?read more.
Do not judge according to outward appearance, but judge according to righteous judgment!"

Now early in the morning he came again to the temple [courts]. And all the people were coming, and he sat down [and] began to teach them. Now the scribes and the Pharisees brought to him a woman caught in adultery. And standing her in [their] midst, they said to him, testing [him], "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery!read more.
Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?" (Now they were saying this to test him, so that they would have [an occasion] to bring charges against him.) But Jesus, bending down, began to write with [his] finger on the ground, taking no notice. And when they persisted in asking him, straightening up he said to them, "The [one] of you without sin, let him throw the first stone at her!" And bending down again, he wrote on the ground. Now [when they] heard [it], being convicted by their conscience, they began to depart, one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone--and the woman who was in [their] midst. So Jesus, straightening up and seeing no one except the woman, said to her, "Where are those accusers of yours? Does no one condemn you?" And she said, "No one, Lord." So Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more."]]

Now [when] the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they assembled at the same [place]. And one of them, a legal expert, put a question to [him] to test him: "Teacher, which commandment [is] greatest in the law?"read more.
And he said to him, " 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second [is] like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets."

And one of the scribes came up [and] heard them debating. [When he] saw that he answered them well, he asked him, "Which commandment is the most important of all?" Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart and from your whole soul and from your whole mind and from your whole strength.'read more.
The second [is] this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." And the scribe said to him, "That is true, Teacher. You have said {correctly} that he is one and there is no other except him. And to love him from your whole heart and from your whole understanding and from your whole strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." And Jesus, [when he] saw that he had answered thoughtfully, said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And no one dared to put a question to him any longer.

Now when the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from one another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right and the goats on the left.read more.
Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, [you] who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world! For I was hungry and you gave me [something] to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me [something] to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me as a guest, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you cared for me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed [you], or thirsty and give [you something] to drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome [you] as a guest, or naked and clothe [you]? And when did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?' And the king will answer [and] say to them, 'Truly I say to you, in as much as you did [it] to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did [it] to me.' Then he will also say to those on [his] left, 'Depart from me, [you] accursed ones, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels! For I was hungry and you did not give me [anything] to eat, I was thirsty and you did not give me [anything] to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me as a guest, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not care for me.' Then they will also answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and not serve you?' Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly I say to you, in as much as you did not do [it] to one of the least of these, you did not do [it] to me.' And these will depart into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

For circumcision is of value if you do the law, but if you should be a transgressor of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. Therefore, if the uncircumcised person follows the requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be credited for circumcision? And the uncircumcised person by nature who carries out the law will judge you who, [though provided] with {the precise written code} and circumcision [are] a transgressor of the law.read more.
For the Jew is not {one outwardly}, nor [is] circumcision {outwardly}, in the flesh. But the Jew {is one inwardly}, and circumcision [is] of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter, whose praise [is] not from people but from God.

Then Samuel said, "Is there [as much] delight for Yahweh in burnt offerings and sacrifices as [there is] in {obeying} Yahweh? Look! {To obey} [is] better than sacrifice; to give heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion [is like] the sin of divination; arrogance [is like] iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of Yahweh, he has rejected you from [being] king!"

For you do not delight [in] sacrifice or I would give [it]. [With] a burnt offering you are not pleased. The sacrifices of God [are] a broken spirit; A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Doing righteousness and justice is [more] acceptable to Yahweh than sacrifice.

What [is the] abundance of your sacrifices to me? says Yahweh. I have had enough [of] burnt offerings of rams and [the] fat [of] fattened animals and I do not delight in [the] blood of bulls and ram-lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who asked for this from your hand: you trampling my courts? You must not {continue} to bring offerings of futility, incense--it [is] an abomination to me; new moon and Sabbath, [the] calling of a convocation-- I cannot endure iniquity with [solemn] assembly.read more.
Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become to me like burden, I am not able to bear [them]. And when you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I [will] not be listening. Your hands are full of blood. Wash! Make yourselves clean! Remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes! Cease to do evil! Learn to do good! Seek justice! Rescue [the] oppressed! Defend [the] orphan! Plead for [the] widow!

Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, "Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat [the] flesh. For I did not speak with your ancestors, nor did I command them in the day of bringing them out from the land of Egypt, concerning the matter of burnt offering and sacrifice. But I only commanded them this word, {saying}, 'Obey my voice, and I will be to you God, and you will be to me people, and you must walk in all of the way that I command you, so that it goes well with you.'

Because I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

"I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your assemblies. Yes, [even] if you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept [them], and I will not look at the fellowship offerings of your fattened animals. Remove from me the noise of your songs, and I do not want to hear the melody of your harps!read more.
But let justice roll on like the water, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

With what shall I approach Yahweh, and bow down to God on high? Shall I approach him with burnt offerings, with bull calves a year old? Will Yahweh be pleased with thousands of rams, with myriads of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body [for the] sin of my soul? He has told you, O mortal, what [is] good, and what does Yahweh ask from you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed [as] having been crucified? I want only to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now trying to be made complete by the flesh?read more.
Have you suffered so many [things] for nothing--if indeed also [it was] for nothing? Therefore does the one who gives you the Spirit and who works miracles among you [do so] by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

revealing that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us, inscribed not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on stone tablets but on tablets of human hearts. Now we possess such confidence through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as from ourselves, but our adequacy [is] from God,read more.
who also makes us adequate [as] servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

The woman said to him, "Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you [people] say that in Jerusalem is the place where it is necessary to worship." Jesus said to her, "Believe me, woman, that an hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.read more.
You worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, because salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming--and now is [here]--when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for indeed the Father seeks such [people] [to be] his worshipers. God [is] spirit, and the ones who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

So then, my brothers, you also were brought to death with respect to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to the one who was raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. For when we were in the flesh, sinful desires were working through the law in our members, to bear fruit for death. But now we have been released from the law, [because we] have died [to that] by which we were bound, so that we may serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter [of the law].

Consequently, [there is] now no condemnation for those [who are] in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what [was] impossible for the law, in that it was weak through the flesh, God [did]. [By] sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,read more.
in order that the requirement of the law would be fulfilled in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who are [living] according to the flesh are intent on the things of the flesh, but those [who are living] according to the Spirit [are intent on] the things of the Spirit. For the mindset of the flesh [is] death, but the mindset of the Spirit [is] life and peace, because the mindset of the flesh [is] enmity toward God, for [it is] not subjected to the law of God, for [it is] not able [to do so], and those who are in the flesh are not able to please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person {does not belong to him}. But if Christ [is] in you, the body [is] dead because of sin, but the Spirit [is] life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also make alive your mortal bodies through his Spirit who lives in you.

Thus also it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living soul"; the last Adam [became] a life-giving spirit. But the spiritual [is] not first, but the natural; then the spiritual.

and not as Moses used to place a veil over his face, in order that the sons of Israel would not stare at the end of what was transitory. But their minds were hardened. For until this very day, the same veil remains upon the reading of the old covenant, not being uncovered, because it is done away with in Christ. But until today, whenever Moses is read aloud, a veil lies upon their heart,read more.
but whenever one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord [is, there is] freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, reflecting the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory into glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

For on the one hand a preceding commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness (for the law [made] nothing perfect), but on the other hand [there is] the introduction of a better hope through which we draw near to God. And by as much as [this was] not without an oath (for these on the one hand {have become priests} without an oath,read more.
but he with an oath by the one who said to him, "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, 'You [are] a priest {forever}'"), by so much more Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.

Now [this is] the main point in what has been said: we have a high priest such as this, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord set up, not man. For every high priest is appointed in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices; therefore [it was] necessary [for] this one also to have something that he offers.read more.
Now if he were on earth, he would not even be a priest, [because there] are those who offer the gifts according to the law, who serve a sketch and shadow of the heavenly [things], just as Moses was warned [when he] was about to complete the tabernacle, for he says, "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern which was shown to you on the mountain." But now he has attained a more excellent ministry, by as much as he is also mediator of a better covenant which has been enacted upon better promises. For if that first [covenant] had been faultless, occasion would not have been sought for a second. For in finding fault with them he says, "Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, when I will complete a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day I took hold of them by my hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they did not continue in my covenant and I disregarded them, says the Lord. For this [is] the covenant that I will decree with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I am putting my laws in their minds and I will write them on their hearts, and I will be {their} God and they will be {my} people. And they will not teach each one his fellow citizen and each one his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their wrongdoings, and I will not remember their sins [any] longer." In calling [it] new, he has declared the former [to be old]. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old [is] near to disappearing.

Look, [the] days [are] coming," {declares} Yahweh, "and I will {make} a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I {made} with their ancestors on the day of my grasping [them] by their hand, bringing them out from the land of Egypt, my covenant that they themselves broke, though I myself was a master over them," {declares} Yahweh. "But this [is] the covenant that I will {make} with the house of Israel after those days," {declares} Yahweh: "I will put my law in their inward parts and on their hearts I will write it, and I will be to them God, and they themselves will be to me people.read more.
And they will no longer teach each one his neighbor, or each one his brother, {saying}, 'Know Yahweh,' for all of them will know me, from their {smallest} and up to their {greatest}," {declares} Yahweh, "for I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will no longer remember."